The [[New Testament]] is that portion of the [[Christian]] [[Bible]] composed and compiled during the first few centuries [[CE]].

The [[New Testament]] is that portion of the [[Christian]] [[Bible]] composed and compiled during the first few centuries [[CE]].

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== Books of the New Testament ==

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The first four books of the New Testament&mdash;[[Book of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Mark]], [[Luke]], and [[Book of John|John]]&mdash;are the four [[canon]]ical [[gospel]]s, which tell the story of the life and crucifixion (and resurrection) of [[Jesus]].

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The book of [[Acts]] tells of what happened to Jesus' [[apostle]]s after he died.

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The next 13 books, [[Pauline epistles|Romans through Philemon]], are letters (epistles) supposedly written by the apostle [[Paul]] to various churches. Note that a large part of Christian teachings are from Paul rather than Jesus.

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Of the 13 epistles only 7 are considered authentic by most biblical and secular scholars.

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The list of Pauline epistles below have dates ascribed to the authentic, the rest are pseudepigraphical.

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Romans (55-58 CE)

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First Corinthians (53-54 CE)

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Second Corinthians (55-56 CE)

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Galatians (55 CE)

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Ephesians

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Philippians (52-54 CE)

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Colossians

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First Thessalonians (51 CE)

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Second Thessalonians

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First Timothy

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Second Timothy

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Titus

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Philemon (52-54 CE)

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The next 8 books, [[General epistles|Hebrews through Jude]], are letters written by other members of the early church.

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The [[Book of Revelation]] purports to be a [[revelation]] from [[God]] to the evangelist [[John the Evangelist|John]] describing the coming end of the world.

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==Apocryphal gospels==

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There are a number of apocryphal gospels — that is, gospels that were excluded from the canon for various reasons. Decisions over which books to include and which to exclude were sometimes based more on political than theological reasons. The [[Book of Revelation]] was frequently not considered authentic in ancient times. Below is a list of some of the apocryphal books.

Books of the New Testament

The book of Acts tells of what happened to Jesus' apostles after he died.

The next 13 books, Romans through Philemon, are letters (epistles) supposedly written by the apostle Paul to various churches. Note that a large part of Christian teachings are from Paul rather than Jesus.

Of the 13 epistles only 7 are considered authentic by most biblical and secular scholars.

The list of Pauline epistles below have dates ascribed to the authentic, the rest are pseudepigraphical.

Apocryphal gospels

There are a number of apocryphal gospels — that is, gospels that were excluded from the canon for various reasons. Decisions over which books to include and which to exclude were sometimes based more on political than theological reasons. The Book of Revelation was frequently not considered authentic in ancient times. Below is a list of some of the apocryphal books.